Wednesday, August 26, 2015

It's been very quiet here lately, which is usually a sign that the offline life is busier than usual. My offline life has been super busy and will be even more in the upcoming couple of months. My current project is running out and I was able to secure new funding at a new university in a new country. After Australia it will be Europe this time. This is all very exciting, but brings a very long to do list with it. Finalizing up all my projects, handing over equipment, finishing code, getting my students in a state from which they can run on their own. This is my current business and this will continue until I move.

And with this my OZ experience is over and as this blog was devoted to my time here, this space will be closed as well - or at least it will not be continued. Thank you very much, dear readers, for checking this sphere once in a while and leaving an occasional comment. It was great to have this space to share my thoughts. I might get a new online presence at some point.

Friday, February 27, 2015

A few days ago I was on the bus to uni and the bus was packed with people. Close to me was a lady standing and reading - a paper manuscript, which had in big, fat letters "CONFIDENTIAL" written all over it. One might say, that nobody cares what the other random people on the bus read - and in most cases that is certainly true. But on the other hand most of us certainly expect that their non-published awesome ideas and findings get treated with a bit of mindfulness. But what is a good spot to read a confidential manuscript? How do researchers deal with all the confidentiality that lands in their inbox every day. For academics having an office on their own there is no obvious issue, but all of us post-docs, who have to share offices, are in principle in a bit of a dilemma. A shared office is not a good environment for reading a confidential paper, neither is my favorite coffee shop or the library. In session the whole campus is so crowded that it's difficult to not be surrounded by people at all times. So, do I have to take this part of my work home with me? Or read it on the loo? In reality, I rely very much on the "who cares" aspect. I wouldn't read a confidential manuscript ion the bus or subway, but I do read them in my shared office. My office colleagues work in different fields than I do, so even if they would want to snitch research ideas, my desk would not be a good source for them. However, I do put the print-outs in the shredder when I don't need them anymore. For the peace of mind.

about me

After doing my undergrad studies here and there and enjoying my time as a PhD student somewhere else, I'm now a postdoctoral fellow at one of the big Australian universities. My research field belongs to science or engineering - depending on whom you ask.